Cruise ship power outage found to be explosion

by Chris Owen on

Most of the passengers on board Cunard Line’s Queen Mary 2 were sleeping when the ship lost power on the morning of September 23rd. What was believed to be a brief power outage has now been identified as a more serious problem.

After a complete investigation, the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) ruled this week that the event was actually the result of an engine room explosion. In a report published this week the event was described as a “catastrophic failure” of electrical capacitors caused by gradual deterioration.

While passenger safety was not compromised the explosion, deemed strong enough to damage steel doors, adds to a call for improved cruise ship safety world-wide.

Maritime attorney Jim Walker notes “The reporting of this latest incident raises the issue of the safety of foreign flagged cruise ships, and comes after a string of recent disturbing mishaps.”

Earlier this week passengers were poisoned by potentially lethal hydrogen sulphide gas on Princess Cruises Sea Princess. On Holland America, a reportedly drunken passenger got into crew-only secured area and dropped the ship’s anchor. Carnival Splendor continues repairs for an on-board fire that canceled sailings between now and January.

While cruise vacations continue to be one of the safest methods of travel, these incidents have cruise lines taking a long, hard look at existing safety policies.

Flickr photo by Dawn Encido

Should Splendor passengers sue Carnival after their ship broke down?

by Scott Carmichael on

After the Carnival Splendor incident last week, the logical follow-up is of course whether passengers will sue the cruiseline. Despite being reimbursed for their inconvenience and receiving a free credit towards a future cruise, chances are some of the passengers will only settle for more.

So, online prediction site Predicto Mobile asked the question – will Carnival be sued by angry passengers before December?

Of the 824 votes, 69% suspect they will. Sadly for those passengers expecting a big payout, Maritime cruise lawyer Jim Walker tells passengers that they’d be wasting their time.

In his article, Jim Walker makes some excellent points about why suing Carnival won’t get them anywhere, and how it could end up costing them more and making them lose out on the current offer of a refund and a free future trip.

So, what do you think? Should the passengers from the Carnival Splendor consider suing the cruise line, or just be happy nobody was hurt and accept the current offer?

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After another incident: Is the Carnival Splendor cursed?

by Melanie Nayer on

The unfortunate fire that disabled the engine operating systems on board the Carnival Splendor is just one more notch in the cruise lines bad karma bedpost. Seems this ship has been sailing against some pretty spooky seas over the past few years, causing some to wonder: Is the Carnival Splendor cursed?

The Carnival Splendor, which was on its way to the Mexican Riviera, has been drifting off the coast of Mexico since Monday. The Coast Guard has dropped food and supplies to the ship and news reports from this morning say the ship is being pulled toward San Diego today. However, this isn’t the first time Carnival has run into trouble.

Back in October, a cruise staffer jumped overboard and has yet to be found. On October 31, a crew member was so ill he apparently needed an airlift to a hospital in San Diego. Seems this vessel – which is said to be twice the size of the Titanic – has had its share of bad luck.

So what’s next? Gawker.com wants to know: Could the cruise ship be cursed? Carnival isn’t taking any chances right now. The company announced it is canceling the next voyage of the Carnival Splendor, which had been scheduled to begin on Nov. 14 in Long Beach, California. Certainly a safe bet, but we’d also suggest maybe burning a little sage and placing rosemary leaves under the pillows of all guest rooms… just to be safe.

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Carnival Splendor in nightmare engine fire incident – Navy airlifts supplies

by Scott Carmichael on

What was supposed to be a week long Mexican Riviera cruise on board the Carnival Splendor, has turned into a nightmare for the passengers. Three days ago, a massive engine fire knocked out almost all the facilities on this 3300 passenger vessel.

Propulsion systems, electricity, climate control, water and entertainment were all disabled, and the ship was been stuck 200 miles off the coast of San Diego. The situation was so bad, that the U.S. Navy had to be called in to supply food for the stranded passengers. The USS Ronald Reagan used its helicopters to drop thousands of pounds of supplies and Navy sailors were airlifted to the Splendor to assist with unloading.

The 3,299 passengers and 1,167 crew members have cold water and toilet usage back, but most other services are still disabled. A tug boat reached the ship yesterday, and she is expected to arrive in San Diego tomorrow.

Carnival has made hotel and flight arrangements for the passengers, and everyone is being offered a full refund and a complimentary future cruise on Carnival.

Sadly, the ship has already has its fair share of bad luck – and despite being less than two years old, some are already asking whether the vessel is cursed. For more coverage on the Carnival Splendor fire, head on over to our friends at AOL Travel News.

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[Image: US Navy / Getty / AP]